Manufactured by
Unidentified
Owned by
Lieutenant Nicolls, Vernon O., American, 1909 - 2003
Subject of
Nicolls, Edith, American, 1914 - 2009
Date
1948
Medium
marble on velvet with wood, cardboard, metal and pressure-sensitive tape
Dimensions
H x W x D: 8 1/16 × 7 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (20.5 × 19 × 3.1 cm)
Caption
Vernon Nicolls was born in Barbados in 1909 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1915. During World War II, while living in Brooklyn, Nicolls enlisted as a Private in the Army at Fort Jay on Governor's Island, New York, in 1942. After graduating from Officer Candidate School, Lieutenant Nicolls served in Italy with the 758th Tank Battalion, the Army's first African American armored unit. According to his family, Lt. Nicolls had this bas-relief made for his wife, Edith, while he was serving in Italy during the war.
Description
A framed, marble bas-relief of Edith Nicolls, wife of Lieutenant Vernon O. Nicolls. The relief is has been carved from white marble that has been mounted on a dark red velvet mat. The relief is roughly square in shape and depicts the face, neck and top of the shoulders of Edith Nicolls. Nicolls has her hair up and she is smiling. The relief and mat are housed in a white, gold speckled frame with a gold accented floral motif band decorating the front of the frame. The back of the frame is black coated cardboard with a two way easel stand and a silver-toned sawtooth picture hanger at the top edge. A white sticker attached to back of frame has black, handwritten text that reads, [E[---?] Gloria Nicolls / ROME ITALY / 1948].
Place made
Rome, Italy, Europe
Classification
Visual Arts
Type
bas-reliefs
Topic
Art
Design
Families
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Kay L. Nicolls
Object number
2014.142.7
Restrictions & Rights
Unknown – Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd50759d151-5cad-46a2-9a0a-c640c584a014

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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